Horcrux

Horcrux
Object information
Usage	To contain fragments of a soul and prevent death
Owners	Herpo the Foul Lord Voldemort

"Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction–"

— the introduction of Magick Moste Evile

A Horcrux is a very powerful object in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality.. Creating a single horcrux allows one to gain the ability to resurrect themselves if their body is destroyed, but the more horcruxes one creates, the closer one is to achieving true immortality. Creating multiple Horcruxes is suggested to be costly to the creator, by both diminishing their humanity and even physically disfiguring them. It is possible to put the wizard's or witch's soul back together, but it is excruciatingly painful.

Origins

The first Horcrux was created by Herpo the Foul. The only other known creator of them was Lord Voldemort, who went on to create multiple Horcruxes and Dumbledore believed he was the only one ever to do so. Others have tried with mixed results, some even dying in the process.

Nature

The Locket and the note

Creation of a Horcrux is considered the foulest act of Dark magic, as it attempts to violate and tamper with the multiple laws of nature and morality in its creation. Horcruxes are objects considered to be so evil that even the texts published explicitly to cater to the practise of the most terrible kinds of magic will not speak of them. Even Magick Moste Evile skirts the topic.

Creation

"This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest Art – it’s a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic… And the more I've read about them, the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six. It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that’s just by making one Horcrux!"

— Hermione Granger on researching how Voldemort made Horcruxes

The only known book that provides specific instruction on the creation of a Horcrux is Secrets of the Darkest Art, once held in the Hogwarts Library. Due to the book's extremely dark and dangerous nature, Albus Dumbledore hid it away in his office; he did not destroy it, however.

The specific processes involved are known to involve a spell and a horrible act. To split one's soul, one must also commit the most supreme act of evil — murder — and then encase a portion of their fractured soul into a chosen object with an as-of-yet unrevealed spell. The detached soul fragment will always remain as it was when it was divided; for instance, Tom Riddle's diary portrayed Tom Marvolo Riddle as a teenager while the eyes inside Salazar Slytherin's locket resembled Voldemort's eyes as they were back when he still had a relatively normal appearance.

Though a Horcrux can be made from anything, Lord Voldemort chose to use objects of great significance or importance. The process makes the part of the soul remaining in the witch or wizard unstable. If the maker's physical body is later destroyed, he or she will live on in non-corporeal form, although there are methods of regaining physical form. However, according to Horace Slughorn, few would want to live in such a form and death would be preferable.

It is stated at one point that Voldemort had already "pushed his soul to the limit" in creating his seven Horcruxes. This implies a finite number of Horcruxes any one person may create before the process becomes too dangerous to attempt again. Though this limit is never explicitly stated, the number seems to set solidly at seven intentional Horcruxes, and creating seven Horcruxes in addition to the person's own body renders the soul unstable and liable to break off when the person whose soul it is commits murder. Dumbledore explicitly stated that Voldemort's soul had become so unstable that it finally "broke apart" when Voldemort tried to murder Harry for the first time.

Reconciliation

Ron: "Isn’t there any way of putting yourself back together?"

Hermione: "Yes, but it would be excruciatingly painful."

Harry: "Why? How do you it?"

Hermione: "Remorse. You’ve got to really feel what you’ve done. There’s a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can’t see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?"

— Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Hermione on reconciling the fragments of a broken soul

The creation of a Horcrux can be reversed by its creator through truly feeling remorse, though the effects of this can apparently be painful to the point of being fatal. However, as is described below, this may be a far preferable outcome than the alternative.

Interestingly, since Dumbledore said that "there is no help possible" for Voldemort's soul, it may be that any soul as badly damaged as Voldemort's could no longer be repaired through remorse as described in Secrets of the Darkest Art. Alternately, and more likely, the soul can still be repaired through the redemptive power of repentence. Harry told Voldemort to "try . . . be a man. . . try for some remorse. It's your one chance. It's all you've got left." This seems to indicate that though Tom Riddle's soul is maimed and seriously injured, he can still repair it by regretting all the horrible things he did, as Gellert Grindelwald did in later life.

Destruction

Horcruxes can also be destroyed by others, seeing as the piece of the soul depends upon its container to survive; the opposite of a human being. Destruction of a Horcrux is difficult, but not impossible, and requires that the receptacle to be damaged completely beyond physical or magical repair. When a Horcrux is damaged to this point, it may appear to "bleed" (ink in the case of Tom Riddle's Diary and a "dark blood-like substance" in the case of Ravenclaw's Diadem) and a scream may be heard as the soul fragment perishes.

Dumbeldore's blackened hand after destroying a Horcrux.

The creator of the Horcrux will, most likely, be able to sense that his soul fragment was destroyed, although Dumbledore stated that in the particular case of Voldemort, he wouldn't feel their loss because his soul was sliced too many times and stayed that way for too long. This theory was proved correct for Voldemort's first three Horcruxes. However, he felt the loss of the following Horcruxes and fainted briefly when one (inside Harry) was destroyed.

All known methods of Horcrux destruction are as deadly as the creation. For example, the earliest known method is administering basilisk venom to the Horcrux, the procurement of which is next to impossible. Other known methods are Fiendfyre (as evidenced by its destruction of Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem), which requires extreme skill to control and the Killing Curse (extremely Dark magic) which seems to be capable of destroying a Horcrux if it is animate, given that part of Voldemort's soul contained in Harry Potter was destroyed when he was struck with the Killing Curse in 1998. However, Harry Potter was never a true Horcrux (see below) and so it may not work on a proper, animate Horcrux (like Nagini), probably having unforeseen side effects.

The seventh Horcrux (Harry Potter) was not destroyed in Chamber of Secrets because Fawkes' tears saved him and hence the "receptacle" (Harry) was not then destroyed beyond repair.

Albus Dumbledore, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom used Godric Gryffindor's Sword to destroy Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, and Nagini respectively. This was only achievable as the sword is a Goblin-made artefact, which can imbibe qualities that strengthen it. When Harry Potter slew the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, the sword was imbued with Basilisk venom and became capable of destroying Horcruxes.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger used Basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to destroy Tom Riddle's Diary and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, respectively.

Powers

One fragment of Voldemort's soul that was hidden in the locket.

Ron: "The bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasn’t it? How does that work, then?"

Hermione: "While the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don’t mean holding it for too long…I mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You’re in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux."

— Hermione on a Horcrux's ability to possess and eventually control a person

The fragments of a person's soul within a Horcrux can think for themselves and have certain magical abilities, including the ability to influence those in their vicinity. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were carrying Salazar Slytherin's Locket around their necks in 1997, they each became moodier and more prone to fighting, especially Ron. They were also unable to summon their Patronuses while wearing the locket since the soul fragment inside was darkening their thoughts. A person with an affinity for the Dark Arts, on the other hand, would be strengthened by the influence of a Horcrux, as Dolores Umbridge was when wearing Salazar Slytherin's Locket. If a person is more emotionally vulnerable, it is possible for the soul inside the Horcrux to take control of him or her, as Tom Riddle's Diary did to Ginny Weasley. In fact, Voldemort made advantage of this possessive power to reopen the Chamber of Secrets, using the diary as a weapon rather than a safeguard.

In this way, a Horcrux can gradually feed on another person's life or negative emotions to strengthen itself and increase the ability of the soul fragment within to act independently in the physical world. The best example of this is in the case of Tom Riddle's diary. For decades, the diary lay dormant in Lucius Malfoy's possession, doing nothing other than safeguarding the soul fragment of Tom Riddle. When Ginny Weasley began to transcribe her fears and insecurities into the pages of the diary, the fragment of Tom Riddle's soul contained within was not only able to write back to Ginny but eventually drained enough life out of her to actually manifest itself in a semi-corporeal form and work magic with Harry Potter's wand. Likewise, Salazar Slytherin's Locket slowly gained power when it was in the possession of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the months prior to its destruction. It can be theorized that the locket gained somewhat less power from them (not enough for Riddle to fully manifest but still enough to speak and create illusions) because Harry, Ron, and Hermione were actively resisting the locket's influence instead of embracing it as Ginny had done with the diary. On the other hand, Horcruxes which have been isolated for long periods of time (such as Hufflepuff's Cup and Ravenclaw's Diadem) were very passive by comparison and took no real measures to protect themselves. Even Slytherin's Locket was fairly inert when it was initially discovered in a cabinet in the drawing room at 12 Grimmauld Place, displaying no powers other than being impossible to open.

Horcruxes also possess some last line of defence against destruction. The fragment of soul within the Horcrux seems to be able to sense impending threats and can act to defend itself. For instance, Slytherin's locket viciously taunted Ron Weasley with visions of his deepest fears and even attempted to strangle Harry Potter.

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The Locket around Umbridge's neck.

Side effects

"Tamper with the deepest mysteries - the source of life, the essence of self - only if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind."

— the first of Adalbert Waffling's Fundamental Laws of Magic

To create a Horcrux is to divide one's soul - the "essence of self" - and it is therefore in the creation of a Horcrux that one falls prey to Adalbert Waffling's first Fundamental Law of Magic, the "activation" of which incurs - sooner or later - consequences (or "side effects") of the greatest magnitude.

When a wizard makes a Horcrux, the mutilation of his soul causes him to become less human. The more Horcruxes he creates, the less human he becomes. Ten years after the house-elf Hokey 's memory shows him to be hollow-cheeked but otherwise normal, his features look as if they have been burned and blurred, and his skin is extremely white. During those ten years, we can assume that he has created more than one Horcrux, as he claims to have "pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed before", and Dumbledore believes that Voldemort, like him, thinks that no one has ever created more than one Horcrux. It is unclear whether the red eyes and slit-like nostrils that Voldemort has after he is reborn are caused by having more Horcruxes than he did than when he applied for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post a second time, or whether they are characteristics of a person who has been resurrected.

Dehumanization

One of these such side-effects is the "dehumanising" effect the mutilation of one's soul (the creation of a Horcrux) is said to have. The more Horcruxes one creates, the less human they become, both emotionally and physically; for example, in the house-elf Hokey's memory Tom Riddle is initially shown to be hollow-cheeked but otherwise normal, though ten years later his features look as if they have been burned and blurred, and his skin is extremely white. One can hence assume that in the course of those ten years he had created more than one Horcrux that in turn wrought the physical changes seen in Voldemort over that timespan. Albus Dumbledore believes that no one has ever created more than one Horcrux, with exception to Lord Voldemort.

Of course, this initial consequence of dehumanisation has its own side effect; it logically follows that if one becomes dehumanised by Horcrux creation then they will take less stock of morality in general, increasing the likelihood that they will create another Horcrux, which would in turn make them less human and hence less moral, which further increases their likelihood of making more Horcruxes and so on. In other words, Horcrux creation may be thought of as a "slippery slope" or "downward spiral" until one reaches the limit, at which point no more Horcruxes may be made.

Appearance

One should note that it is unclear whether the red eyes and slit-like nostrils that Voldemort has after he is reborn are caused by having more Horcruxes than he did than when he applied for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post a second time, or whether they are characteristics of a person who has been resurrected with the help of serpents (who have continued to play key roles in his revival). It is probable that he performed these transformations prior to his resurrection as all of his Death Eaters seem to recognise him without question after Voldemort returned.

Instability

A third side effect of Horcrux creation is that the Master Soul itself becomes unstable (even with creating just one Horcrux). The precise dangers of this spiritual destabilization are not currently detailed explicitly throughout the franchise, however, some can be gleaned from the events in the books. For example, the creation of Voldemort's seventh "Horcrux" - Harry Potter - is known to be the direct result of this as when Voldemort was hit by the back-fired Killing Curse at his parent's home in Godric's Hollow it caused his soul to split, with one fragment remaining in him and the other displaced part immediately seeking out the only other living thing in the room and latching onto it - Harry Potter. However, one should note that although this parasitic fragment of Voldemort's soul attached to Harry's has been mistaken for a Horcrux it has been confirmed that in actuality it does not truly constitute one, since it was not created intentionally. Likewise, not all of the known parts of the Horcrux creation process were correctly carried out for it. Voldemort had just committed 2 murders (Harry's parents) so that may have been adequate for that requirement. In this state, Harry Potter may be more accurately be described as a "proto-Horcrux", though for simplicity he may be termed a Horcrux regardless.

Limbo

The final known side-effect of Horcrux creation is the inability to move on from Limbo after death. This is seen when Voldemort's Killing Curse (after the destruction of all the other Horcruxes) rebounded and finally ended his life once and for all, his broken and mangled soul was forced to exist in the stunted form of a flayed and mutilated baby that Harry saw in King's Cross during his visit to Limbo, unable to return to the land of the living and unable to go to the land of the dead, because his soul was maimed and unwhole. Reconciliation cannot occur after death, as the soul's state at death remains forever, so the greatest of all consequences incurred by Horcrux creation may be the possibility of eternal limbo of the soul.

Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes

Harry Potter: "So if all of his Horcruxes are destroyed, Voldemort could be killed?"

Dumbledore: "Yes, I think so. Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical power remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort, even without his Horcruxes"

— Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore talking about the destruction of Voldemort's Horcruxes

Lord Voldemort, obsessed with immortality, went further than any wizard known to history to create seven — although he had an eight-part soul, because he accidentally created his sixth Horcrux when he failed to kill Harry Potter in 1981, and later made his familiar Nagini into what he thought was the sixth, but was in fact the seventh, Horcrux. As a student named Tom Marvolo Riddle at Hogwarts in the 1940s, he learned of Horcruxes through books in the Restricted Section, including Secrets of the Darkest Art, and sought out Potions master Horace Slughorn for further information about creating more than one, of which no book would have any record. Albus Dumbledore removed those books from the Hogwarts Library soon afterwards. Although later he suspected that Slughorn had given information to Riddle about Horcruxes, Slughorn refused to reveal the true account of what really happened. Dumbledore later assigned Harry to retrieve the stored memory of it during the 1996–1997 school year. Harry was able to get it through the use of Felix Felicis.

This was part of Dumbledore and Harry's quest to determine, locate, and destroy, in secret, what they believed to be as many as six of Voldemort's Horcruxes. After Dumbledore's death, Harry took up the quest with his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Hermione was able to Summon the books on the subject to her from the Headmaster's office at the end of the 1996–1997 school year to aid them in their research on Horcruxes.

Although Voldemort had seven Horcruxes, no more than six existed at one time because Tom Riddle's Diary was destroyed before Nagini was turned into a Horcrux. Hence he did have his soul split in seven pieces as he intended; however, it conferred no special added protection as he seemed to feel it might. Concerning Nagini, it is not known if she had to have been killed by Godric Gryffindor's Sword or if any other means, such as a regular sword killing her, would have destroyed the Horcrux. However, as Albus Dumbledore stated, using a living being as a Horcrux is a risky business, as the creature could die or be killed and the Horcrux lose its integrity. Thus it is likely that any method that would kill Nagini would destroy the Horcrux, as death cannot be undone by magic. Also, it is unknown what would happen if Nagini died of natural causes.

All of Voldemort's Horcruxes are made from objects that have extreme value, in his desire to secure his position as the greatest in history, and that only noteworthy items can live up to his standards and having the honour to house a fragment of his precious soul. As such, he had originally made it his desire to collect four items of the four founders of Hogwarts; he only found three, and gave up after failing to find another, but made Horcruxes out of other items that have sentimental value to himself, if not as a priceless artefact of the Wizarding world.

List of Voldemort's Horcruxes

"I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality..."

— Lord Voldemort to his gathered Death Eaters after his rebirth

Tom Riddle's Diary
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
In the possession of Lucius Malfoy, later given to Ginny Weasley (without her knowing it), and eventually found by Harry Potter in the girls lavatory on the 2nd floor.	Moaning Myrtle	Harry Potter	Stabbed with a Basilisk fang	Chamber of Secrets	29 May, 1993
Marvolo Gaunt's Ring
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
In the Gaunt Shack	Tom Riddle Sr.	Albus Dumbledore	Cut with Godric Gryffindor's Sword	Headmaster's office	July 1996
Salazar Slytherin's Locket
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
Horcrux cave, later moved to 12 Grimmauld Place, later stolen by Mundungus Fletcher, who gave it to Dolores Umbridge as a bribe	A Muggle tramp	Ron Weasley	Stabbed with Godric Gryffindor's Sword	Forest of Dean	28 December, 1997
Helga Hufflepuff's Cup
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
The Lestrange family vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank	Hepzibah Smith	Hermione Granger	Stabbed with a Basilisk fang	Chamber of Secrets	Battle of Hogwarts, 2 May, 1998
Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
In the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts Castle	An Albanian peasant	Vincent Crabbe	Unintentionally incinerated with Fiendfyre	Room of Requirement	Battle of Hogwarts, 2 May, 1998
Harry Potter
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
Inadvertently part of Harry's soul	"[Voldemort] had rendered his soul so unstable that it broke apart when he committed those acts of unspeakable evil, the murder of [Harry's] parents, the attempted killing of a child [Harry]."	Lord Voldemort	Destroyed with a Killing Curse	Forbidden Forest	Battle of Hogwarts, 2 May, 1998
Nagini
Hiding place	Created with the murder of	Destroyed by	Destruction method	Destruction site	Date Destroyed
Always by Lord Voldemort's side after the cup was stolen	Bertha Jorkins	Neville Longbottom	Beheaded with Godric Gryffindor's Sword	Entrance Hall of Hogwarts	Battle of Hogwarts, 2 May, 1998

Etymology

The word Horcrux may be derived from the French dehors, meaning "outside," and crux, meaning "soul". In a nutshell, Horcrux may mean "The Soul Outside".

The word Horcrux may be also composed by "hor" or "hore" (old English/middle-English) meaning "dirt, evil, impurity" and "crux" or "crúce" (old English) meaning "container, pitcher(ful), jar". Besides, Horcrux is a contraction from "horrible" (English) meaning "frightful, flagitious, unworthy, wretched, terrible, monstrous, fearful" and "crux" (Latin) meaning "the Cross".

Behind the scenes

• J. K. Rowling revealed in Pottermore that Prof. Quirinus Quirrell served as a temporary Horcrux when Voldemort's soul possessed his body during Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts.
• J. K. Rowling knows exactly what the process for the creation of a Horcrux is, but is not telling — yet. The information will be included in the Harry Potter Encyclopedia. She has told her editor what the process is and revealed that the editor felt like vomiting afterwards. All she will say is that a spell is involved, and a horrific act is performed.
• J.K. Rowling described the invention of the Horcrux as comparable to the splitting of the atom: "Something that people imagined might be able to be done, but couldn't quite bring it off, and then... and then people started doing it with sometimes catastrophic effects."
• The only Horcrux that Harry personally destroyed was Tom Riddle's Diary, even though he was the only one clearly stated to be sent for the mission. Also, he did not even know that it was a Horcrux at the time. The Ring was destroyed by Albus Dumbledore, the Locket by Ron Weasley, the Cup by Hermione Granger, the Diadem with Fiendfyre that was conjured by Vincent Crabbe, Nagini was killed by Neville Longbottom, and the fragment within Harry was inadvertently destroyed by Voldemort himself. In the film adaptation, however, Harry does destroy the Diadem with a basilisk fang.
• Voldemort planned on making six Horcruxes, thereby splitting his soul into seven pieces (the seventh being contained in his body). Through his attempt to murder Harry Potter, and Harry's subsequent accidental creation as a Horcrux, he actually had seven Horcruxes. His eighth, much mangled, piece of soul was the one that spent over a decade bodiless and eventually returned to his reconstituted body. However, inadvertently and by chance, he still achieved the magically significant split of his soul into seven pieces because the Diary was destroyed before Nagini was made a Horcrux.
• It is unsure if Severus Snape knew about Horcruxes. He knew that Marvolo Gaunt's ring was cursed but never seemed to discuss Horcruxes with Dumbledore. However considering his passion and interest for the Dark Arts from a young age it is possible he knew what they were but didn't know the ring was a Horcrux.
• Of the seven Horcruxes Voldemort created (intentionally and unintentionally), four of them were destroyed during the Battle of Hogwarts, along with Voldemort himself.
• The creation of a Horcrux does not always require a spell (for example, Harry Potter). However, it does require a murder.
• In the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the only Horcruxes mentioned are the diary, the ring, and the locket, leaving Harry with no direction in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In addition, Ginny hides Harry's potion book while Harry closes his eyes (as well as kissing him for the very first time), and there is no indication that Harry sees the diadem.
• There has been controversy of the fact that, in the films, Harry, Ron and Hermione do not have any leads to find the remaining Horcruxes, apart from the locket. However, in the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it is shown that a Horcrux will leave a trace of Dark magic - this gives the person who touches the Horcrux visions of associated events and other related Horcruxes. A scene in the sixth film shows Harry touching Marvolo Gaunt's Ring and experiencing a flow of high speed visions including Tom Riddle screaming in agony (possibly due to the method of ripping his soul) and Nagini, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. This is also stated in Steve Klove's script for the film. This would ultimately lead Harry, Ron, and Hermione to know most (if not all) of the Horcruxes in the film versions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
• A person who is a Horcrux also seems to possess some of the creator's abilities such as Harry Potter being able to use Parseltongue which is one of Voldemort's inherited abilities. It also creates a mental link between the two the strength of which seems to depend upon the strength of the creator. For example, when Voldemort was weak and only in a spiritual form, Harry could only sense his presence when he was close by and feel his anger, but after he returned to somewhat of a body, this expanded a bit into the occasional dream vision of things happening with Voldemort. After Voldemort returned to full power, this link expanded so that Harry got full visions in his dreams of what Voldemort was dwelling upon, but the link can also be two-way and Voldemort was able to use it and Legilimency to implant a false vision in Harry's mind. The link can be shut off with Occlumency on the part of one of the two with the link, but if the Occlumency slips, the link can reopen. The only way to sever the link completely and remove the abilities the Horcrux gives is to destroy the Horcrux itself.
• It is debatable if the Killing Curse can destroy inanimate Horcruxes, although given the extreme measures Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to go through to obtain Basilisk venom to destroy the Horcruxes they found during their search, it seems unlikely (though it stands to reason that the trio would refuse to use the Killing Curse).
• It is possible Lord Voldemort placed spells preventing his Horcruxes from being Summoned with the Summoning Charm, as they have never been Summoned when attempted.
• According to Dumbledore, Voldemort was preserving the creation of his Horcruxes for significant deaths. However, this stands to be another one of Dumbledore's deductions being wrong, as Voldemort has used a Muggle tramp and Albanian peasant to create two of his Horcruxes, with no known significance for the two. However, Dumbledore only knew for certain of two of the murders committed to create Voldemort's Horcruxes: the murder of Moaning Myrtle (his very first killing) to create the diary, and murder of Tom Riddle Sr., his father, for the Gaunt Ring Horcrux. Both of these murders were very significant, but it turns out later that Dumbledore was incorrect that all Horcrux-related deaths were important ones.
• It is unknown if Horcruxs were taught by Amycus Carrow while he was teaching Dark Arts at Hogwarts during Voldemorts reign.
• J.K. Rowling's exact definition of a Horcrux is "a receptacle prepared by dark magic in which a Dark wizard has intentionally hidden a fragment of his soul for the purpose of attaining immortality."
• The concept of a "soul container" is not original to the world of Harry Potter.
  • In Dungeons & Dragons lore, a legendary undead Lich (A powerful user of magic that seeks immortality through means of undeath) could only achieve his dream of immortality by containing their soul in a phylactery, which is almost exactly like a Horcrux - documented examples of lich phylacteries include swords, staves, and crystals, although it is more usually a metal box filled with rune-covered papers that appears as a valuable amulet or gemstone. If a lich's body is destroyed, it can simply regenerate or find a new body, but if the phylactery is destroyed first, the lich can then be killed. For this reason, liches defend these phylacteries as much as they can in a manner very similar to Lord Voldemort and his seven Horcruxes. Unlike Horcruxes, however, phylacteries contain an entire soul rather than just a portion of it, although Mellifleur, the god of lichdom, (later called Mellif) has created multiple phylacteries for himself. However, with the Hide Life spell, powerful spell-casters can cut off part of their body (usually a toe or the pinky finger on the left hand) and store part of their soul into it so they can't be killed. There is no limit to how many times this spell can be used. One particular lich, the evil god Vecna, has often been portrayed in a way reminiscent of Voldemort's physical design. The greatest example of this is the cover to the 2000 module, Die Vecna, Die.
  • The Dungeons & Dragons concept of liches using phylacteries to contain their souls is also used in Blizzard's Wacraft franchise. Of note is Kel'Thuzad, the Lich King's most faithful lich, who was killed (by players) on a dungeon in the game World of Warcraft, his phylactery being moved elsewhere when it was supposed to be destroyed, resulting in his return on the Wrath of the Lich King expansion set.
  • The Russian myth of Koschei the Deathless is another example of containing souls. The Palladium Books RPG, Rifts: Mystic Russia, adopts this myth and describes how it is within an egg.
  • In Chinese mythology there are Heartless Immortals who transform their organs and chi spirit into gems held in a secret container to prevent their death, adapted in the Palladium Books source book to the Ninjas & Superspies RPG, Mystic China
  • In InuYasha, a Japanese Manga, Yūra of the Hair, an ogress, sealed her soul into a comb and hid it away within one of many skulls in her nest. And no matter how badly her body was destroyed, she would not die until the comb itself was destroyed.
  • In Native American folk tales, sorcerers could evade death by sealing their spirit inside parrots, becoming invulnerable until the parrot was destroyed.
  • In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the Dark Lord Sauron stored all of his power in the One Ring, but unlike the Horcruxes, the destruction of the Ring would lead to Sauron's fall. With the destruction of the Ring, he fell into the Void to join Morgoth, his former master (though in the film series he is destroyed along with the ring). Sauron made the Ring to corrupt the world and control the other Rings of Power, not to become immortal, for he was already essentially immortal as a Maiar spirit. It is interesting to note that both Voldemort and Sauron used a ring as a container of power, and that at least two Horcruxes (the diary and the locket), like the One Ring, could have a corrupting influence on the bearer. However, the One Ring would give the bearer more power, such as invisibility while it was being worn, and above all, the ability to never die (but the bearer wouldn't gain more vitality). As a consequence, however, Sauron had the ability to find where the One Ring currently was, and telepathically communicate with the person wearing the Ring.
  • In the film Anastasia, Rasputin concealed his soul inside a relic, when it was destroyed, Rasputin died with it.
  • In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Karness Muur created a device called the Muur Talisman that gave him spiritual immortality. Upon Karness' death it was to seek out a new owner to corrupt with the essence of its creator.
  • In the Chronicles of Prydain, the hero encounters a wizard named Morda in the fourth book, "Taran Wanderer" who encased his life force in a severed finger, granting him effective immortality as long as the finger remained whole. With the finger in the hero's possession, the wizard's spells had no effect on him, and unlike a Horcrux, breaking the finger, which contained the whole of Morda's life force, killed him.
  • In the film 9, the Scientist splits his soul into nine pieces and sealed them within small homunculi, ensuring that some form of life went on after a cybernetic revolt led to the extermination of mankind. Though not exactly like a Horcrux, it is interesting to note that like a Horcrux, the nine "Stitchpunks" were created to lengthen life; though the Stitchpunks had their own personalities and minds rather than extending the life of the original creator of the Horcrux.
  • In Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, Safiya, one of the main character's henchmen, is revealed to be an embodied part of the Founder of Thayan Academy's soul and personality, along with her mother Nefris and her aunt Lienna. Upon dying, the pieces of the Founder's soul in Nefris and Lienna reunited with the Founder, and when she died, Safiya hosted all of the pieces.
  • In the anime Yu-Gi-Oh!, it seems the demon Zorc put a piece of his soul in the Millennium Ring, which is the evil Bakura spirit of the ring. Bakura and Zorc merge together in the end and are later destroyed. This does not seem to make Zorc immortal, however, and Bakura reunites with him mere moments after revealing this plot twist. It is presumed that Bakura would be destroyed along with Zorc even if not combined with him. Zorc already seems stronger than all other monsters, and his intent was to have Bakura reawaken him. In addition, Bakura puts a piece of his soul into the Millennium Puzzle at one point. Again, he does not do this to become immortal, but to put his and Zorc's plan into motion by entering the Pharaoh's memory world.
  • In the disney film "The Return of Jafar" the main villain Jafar becomes an immortal Genie due to the events of the previous film "Aladdin". As a Genie he is confined to lamp when the lamp was destroyed Jafar died with it.
  • In the TV series Merlin, the wizard Sigan, who was obsessed with immortality, put his soul inside a jewel.
  • In the anime Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji), main characters Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy are portrayed as having a piece of their soul in their respective family rings. When Alois' ring is worn by Ciel, he slowly turns into the Trancy heir.
  • In the story " The Picture of Dorian Gray," by Oscar Wilde, Dorian's soul is tied to his portrait, which kept him young and immortal until his picture was destroyed. It is also interesting that Dorian Gray feels remorse for the things he has done (such as murder) just before he turns to destroy his picture.
  • In the "Elder Scrolls" game franchise, a particular spell exists that fills a gem with a soul of the one first cast and then murdered by the player character. The spell is called "Soultrap". One has to find a soul gem of significant size, for example "Azura's Star". Then he will have to cast the spell upon an enemy and kill him. Once killed, the soul would transfer to an available empty soul gem in the player character's inventory. It is also known that stronger creatures have more powerful souls and so they need a greater soul gem if one would like to take their soul and store it in one of the soul gems. Filled soul gems can later be used to restore the energy of an enchanted item. This way the enchantments of items can be re-used.
• Interestingly, no one destroyed more than one Horcrux and more than half of them were destroyed by someone other than Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
• Interestingly, the majority of the people who destroyed the Voldemort's Hocruxes didn't know what they were destroying at the time. Neville didn't know what Hocruxes were when he killed Nagini, Harry didn't know about Hocruxes when he destroyed the diary, Voldemort didn't know he was destroying a Hocrux when he attempted to kill Harry Potter, and Vincent Crabbe didn't know what he was destroying when he destroyed the diadem. Though that fact can be argued, as Harry was the one who threw it into the fire and he knew that it was a Hocrux at the time. Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore all knew that they were destroying Hocruxes, which was exactly what they were trying to do.
• Regulus Arcturus Black is the only known person to die because of Hocruxes other than the 8 people killed to create them, though multiple people have been injured in the process, including Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First identified as Horcrux)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4